Ayya Santussika

Ayya Santussika Bhikkhuni entered monastic life in the Theravadan tradition of Buddhism in 2005. In 2012, she co-founded Karuna Buddhist Vihara or Compassion Monastery located in Mountain View, California. Karuna Buddhist Vihara (KBV) is a neighborhood monastery dedicated to the study and practice of the Dharma in all aspects of life.

Ayya Santussika is a director for Buddhist Global Relief, a charitable organization whose mission is to combat chronic hunger and malnutrition by addressing the root causes of poverty, in addition to providing food aid. So far in 2015, Buddhist Global Relief has funded 28 projects in 16 countries and provided emergency relief to Nepal, the Rohingyas refugees and to Cambodian HIV and Aids patients. Ayya Santussika has organized 10 fund-raising Walks to Feed the Hungry in California since 2011.

She is also the founder of the Buddhist Climate Action Network which provides a framework for Buddhists from all traditions to engage in efforts to effectively address climate change through action. Ayya Santussika helped to organize Buddhist participation in the People's Climate March (PCM) in New York City (Sept 2014) and on the People's Climate Train from San Francisco to the PCM. She has spoken on climate change and Dharma at a variety of venues in the US and abroad. She also teaches climate-action focused retreats.